The Narthex
New Oxford Blog
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Purgatory: Purification by Fire?
Crying after death, and the balm given us by our love, the Holy Spirit -- Part 1
By James Thunder | February 25th 2025 12:40 PMSome of what I write in this series is the hardest I have ever written. It evokes deep emotion in me and I assume it will in you. But that will come later. I begin with this: What happens in purgatory? How does God help people change in purgatory? As…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #20
Dressing to the Zeroes... Stealing from the Dead... Polish-American Contributions... more
By John M. Grondelski | February 21st 2025 3:20 PMDressing to the Zeroes Once upon a time, being “dressed to the nines” meant being dressed to perfection, with distinction. It was expected in public, including many places today’s Americans would no longer expect. When I went to college in the late 1970s, my primary way home was by airplane:…
READ FULL BLOG POSTGod's Dwelling Place among Men
God seeks to dwell in the temple that is the human person
By John M. Grondelski | February 18th 2025 1:35 PMThe Opening Prayer (Collect) for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) implores, “O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you.” Let us examine…
READ FULL BLOG POSTDoes Charity Begin at Home?
Prudence cannot be at odds with mercy, and neither can be opposed to justice
By James Hanink | February 17th 2025 9:36 PMDoes charity begin at home? The short answer to the question is yes, it surely does. But the answer is controversial. In part, that’s because a short answer often calls for a careful explanation and we don’t provide it. Sometimes we’ve filed it where we can’t find it. That’s alright,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTFrancis's Immigration Letter
The Pope's missive to U.S. bishops raises some ecclesiological questions
By John M. Grondelski | February 17th 2025 1:06 PMMuch of Pope Francis’s February 10 letter to the Catholic bishops in the United States centered on its subject: immigration. I focused on that in my first take, which addressed how to define “dignity,” what were the letter’s potential long-term implications, and how ordo amoris could be understood in ways…
READ FULL BLOG POSTLove Is a Decision
Film, Faith, and Morals Series -- No. 2
By John M. Grondelski | February 14th 2025 12:31 PMMarty is a great film, both for National Marriage Week (February 7-14) and for Valentine’s Day weekend. Even though it is 71 years old, it’s telling to see what’s changed -- and what hasn’t -- since 1954. (And, I'll admit, there's something about black-and-white films.) Marty (played by Ernest Borgnine) is…
READ FULL BLOG POSTMaking America Healthy
The MAHA vision of health may very well usher in a 'Catholic moment'
By John M. Grondelski | February 13th 2025 7:47 PMThe Senate’s confirmation of Robert Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) concludes a particularly contentious nomination. He will be the Secretary of HHS, whether one likes it or not. So, I’d like to do something somewhat out-of-character in today’s Washington: call a truce. Perhaps we Catholics…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #19
Pohutsky’s Pregnancy Problem... Sex and Babies... Resisting Dialogue... and more
By John M. Grondelski | February 11th 2025 12:00 PMPohutsky’s Pregnancy Problem Laurie Pohutsky is a “bisexual” Michigan Democratic State Representative from northern Wayne County (the county where Detroit sits). You’d probably never hear about a member of the Wolverine State’s legislature -- even the chair of the “Progressive Women’s Caucus" -- except for the fact that Pohutsky took…
READ FULL BLOG POSTGod Talk
In this life we see by faith, a faith that is duly chastened
By James Hanink | February 10th 2025 3:46 PMWittgenstein, in his early Tractatus, concludes his remarks with the proposition "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." Many took him to mean that we can only speak of that for which there is empirical evidence or that which is simply tautological. If that were so, could we…
READ FULL BLOG POSTIVF Is Not Pro-Life
It entails selective reductions, discards, and at least one million frozen embryos
By John M. Grondelski | February 10th 2025 1:24 PMI recently criticized in vitro fertilization (IVF) as being, despite appearances, unloving. It raises questions of spousal exclusivity when other peoples’ gametes are used. It raises questions of alienation from our bodies and our child’s, who subtly shifts from a gift to be welcomed to a commodity to be ordered.…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWhat's Wrong With IVF?
Sex is not a 'technique' to make a child for which another 'technique' can be substituted
By John M. Grondelski | February 7th 2025 6:09 PMMany people, including Catholics, can’t see the problems with in vitro fertilization (IVF). They contend it’s “pro-life” and “gives people what they want, a baby.” So why does the Catholic Church oppose IVF? Because life and love can’t be separated, which is why Karol Wojtyla -- the future John Paul…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #18
Romanian Rain on Francis’s Common Easter Parade... Is the Vatican Tone-Deaf?... and more
By John M. Grondelski | February 6th 2025 1:11 PMRomanian Rain on Francis’s Common Easter Parade Pope Francis’s idea of launching a “common Easter” hit a road block when the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania voiced objections. His primary objection was exactly the condition Vatican II set 61 years ago in the long-dormant appendix to Sacronsanctum Concilium that Francis wants…
READ FULL BLOG POSTDoes Virginity Matter?
It is a joyful expression of God’s promise of the fulfillment of Love
By John M. Grondelski | February 4th 2025 12:53 PMAs a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you (Isaiah 62:5). The Church reads this passage twice -- every year at the Christmas Vigil Mass and early in Ordinary Time of Year…
READ FULL BLOG POSTMore Holy Day Havoc
Canonical alchemists can turn every Mass-attendance 'burden' into a dispensation
By John M. Grondelski | January 31st 2025 1:20 PMWelcome to today’s episode of “As the Holydays Turn.” When last we tuned in, the Catholic bishops of the United States were in a quandary. In 2024, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 fell on a Sunday. According to the norms of the liturgical calendar, when a…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Pope on Easter
Claims that a common Easter would foster ecumenism are exaggerated
By John M. Grondelski | January 29th 2025 12:46 PMRecently Pope Francis repeated an idea he has been floating for some time: setting a common date for Easter. Catholics and Eastern Orthodox mark Easter on different dates because the Orthodox use a different calendar (the Julian, which is 13 days out-of-sync from the sun) and formula to fix Easter.…
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